extendedmetaphor - Political and Parliamentary Reform

Political & Parliamentary Reform in England- Lydia Palos

Date	Event	Description & Significance
1785	Failure of Pitt’s Reform Bill	Prime Minister William Pitt’s reform bill, though unsuccessful, was the first to address major complaints in a bill that proposed to introduce practical methods for the ailments which were thought to have enervated the British constitution. However, due to bill’s failure to be accepted, reform activity during this time came to a standstill and even began to decline.
1789-1799	French Revolution	The French Revolution was responsible for the reinvigoration of reform and for its eventual suppression. The people of England saw how the French parliament was collapsing due to individuals’ actions. The English then realised that, like the French, they might have the power to eliminate or improve the unjust and unbalanced structure of the Parliament.
May 1792	London Corresponding Society’s first Address to the Public	Public announcement which called for universal male suffrage, and a ‘fair, equal and impartial Representation of the people in Parliament.’ It also complained about ‘unjust laws’ and ‘restrictions of liberty.’ London Society’s Address to the Public reached out to tradesmen and the working class, enabling this portion of society to realise their unequal place and confinement during this time.
1815	Corn Laws	The Corn Laws proposed a high tariff on imported grain and guaranteed high bread prices. Due to its unfairness, the Laws acted as a catalyst to political and parliamentary reform. The stirrings of the early 1880’s reform movement escalated into a full revival of radical politics, which was only aggravated by the introduction of the Corn Laws. The resurgence of the campaign manifested itself in mass petitions for parliamentary reform, a new introduction of the radical press which grew to be extremely effective among all sectors of society.
16 August, 1819	Peterloo Massacre	Occurred in St. Peter’s field, Manchester. The Peterloo Massacre was a direct response and rebellion against the parliament. It was a huge political rally in which over 400 casualties resulted from the local magistrate’s decision to use troops to clear 60,000 protesters. The Peterloo Massacre caused an immediate standstill in the public’s need to reform. However, many individuals only saw this as a barrier between changes, and became even more focused on their goal than ever.
7 June, 1832	Great Reform Bill	After endless actions to reform, this Bill was passed by the Whigs government. This bill achieved two things: it re-apportioned representation in Parliament, thus making that body more accurately represent the citizens of the country, and also gave the power of voting to those lower in the social and economic scale. Approximately one man in five now had the right to vote. The Reform Bill readdressed the worst biases of the old representative system and marked the beginning of an acceptance to reform.

Political and Parliamentary Reform in England indicates a destabilisation of accepted processes and also challenges the established traditions of this time. The old electoral system had no logic or consistency. Voting qualifications varied widely and many inequalities had arisen within the English society. The parliamentary system lacked political parties- what was more important in this political system was informal alliances and family loyalties. Individuals began to realise their positions in society, and demanded a more just political system. The struggle to reform the dissipated political system began in earnest in the 1780s. Through the years, more and more people joined the cause to reform the political system. For the first time, popular radicalism emerged, which swept through bodies and groups such as London’s Corresponding Society. The French Revolution was also occurring during this time, and hence it acted as a catalyst, as it caused people to realise that reform was possible. Due to the persistence and push to reform, numerous changes were passed by the government. The most notable change was the Great Reform Bill of 1832, which redressed the worst biases of the old parliamentary system and granted a larger portion of the middle class the privilege to vote.